Permanent product recording
Permanent product recording measures behavior by its lasting effect on the environment, such as completed work or a made bed, after the behavior has occurred.
Some behaviors leave a tangible result that can be inspected later: answers on a worksheet, items assembled, dishes washed, a drawing, a written sentence, clothes put away, or even property damage such as torn papers. Permanent product recording counts or evaluates that result instead of watching the behavior as it happens. The RBT records the product (for example, the number of correctly spelled words) according to the definition in the plan.
The method saves observation time and can be checked again later, which makes it easy for a second observer to verify. It is a good fit when the outcome itself is the goal, when the behavior occurs when no one is watching, or when the RBT needs to attend to other tasks during the session. Photographs or work samples can be kept for interobserver agreement checks.
Its limits come from not seeing the behavior. The product must be produced by the client and not by a sibling, a peer or an adult who helped, so the plan may require the RBT to confirm who did the work. It also does not show how the product was made, so it misses information such as how many prompts were needed or whether problem behavior occurred during the task. Only behaviors that reliably leave the same product can be measured this way.
Example and non-example
| Example | At the end of a vocational session, an RBT counts how many of the 20 envelopes a client stuffed and sealed correctly and records 17. |
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| Non-example | Counting each time the client places a letter in an envelope while watching them work is frequency recording, because the behavior is being observed as it happens. |
Don't confuse it with
| Continuous measurement | Continuous measurement records behavior as it occurs; permanent product recording measures the result afterward. |
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| Frequency | Frequency counts observed responses in real time; permanent product recording counts outcomes left behind. |
Test yourself
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Question 1Permanent product recording measures behavior by:
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A: examining the lasting results of the behavior. Permanent product recording measures the effects a behavior leaves in the environment, such as completed worksheets or assembled items, after the behavior has occurred.
- B: Timing each occurrence from start to finish is duration recording.
- C: Checking at the end of intervals is momentary time sampling.
- D: Counting occurrences as they happen is frequency recording.
Task A.3 · 40-hour curriculum section C
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Question 2Which of these is an example of permanent product recording?
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D: Counting finished worksheet problems after class. A completed worksheet is a lasting product of the student's work. Counting it after the fact, without watching the behavior as it happened, is permanent product recording.
- A: Tallying hand raises as they happen is frequency recording.
- B: Timing how long a behavior lasts is duration recording.
- C: Checking at set moments is momentary time sampling.
Task A.3 · 40-hour curriculum section C
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Question 3What is a main advantage of permanent product recording?
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A: The observer does not need to watch the behavior as it happens. Because the product lasts, it can be counted after the session, which frees the RBT to teach during the session and lets the product be checked again later.
- B: It works only for behaviors that leave a lasting product; most vocal behavior leaves none unless it is recorded.
- C: A product shows the result, not how the behavior was done or what prompts were given.
- D: Percentage of intervals comes from interval procedures, not from counting products.
Task A.3 · 40-hour curriculum section C
Answer every question to see your score.
On the RBT exam
This term belongs to task A.3 Permanent product recording in content area A, Data Collection and Graphing, which is 13 of the 75 scored questions.